Up until the 1980s, the largest overseas market for Indian films was the Soviet Union. After Dharti Ke Lal,[1] the first Indian film to become a blockbuster at the Soviet box office was Awaara (1951), directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, released in the Soviet Union in 1954.[8] Indian films had the strongest presence in the Soviet foreign blockbuster charts for four decades.[9][10] 300 Indian films were released in the Soviet Union,[11] most of which were Bollywood films.[10][12] Among the foreign films that sold more than 20 million tickets in the Soviet Union, 50 were Indian films,[13][14] the highest from any nation,[10] compared to 41 Hollywood films.[10] Indian films were routinely released with hundreds of prints in the Soviet Union, with the most popular Indian films releasing with more than a thousand prints there.[14] The highest-grossing Indian film in the Soviet Union was Disco Dancer (1982),[n 1] written by Rahi Masoom Raza and starring Bengali actor Mithun Chakraborty. In terms of footfalls, the only Indian film estimated to have sold 100million tickets overseas was Awaara in the Soviet Union.[15] The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, bringing an end to Indian cinema's largest overseas market at the time.

In China, some of the Indian films to gain commercial success there during the 1970s–1980s included Awaara, Tahir Hussain's Caravan (1971), Noorie (1979), and Disco Dancer.[26][27] After Indian films declined in the country, it took decades before Tahir Hussain's son Aamir Khan opened up the Chinese market for Indian films in the early 21st century.[26][28][27] His Academy Award nominated Lagaan (2001) became the first Indian film to have a nationwide release there.[29][30] When 3 Idiots released in China, the country was only the 15th largest film market, partly due to China's widespread pirate DVD distribution at the time. However, it was the pirate market that introduced 3 Idiots to most Chinese audiences, becoming a cult hit in the country. It became China's 12th favourite film of all time, according to ratings on Chinese film review site Douban, with only one domestic Chinese film (Farewell My Concubine) ranked higher. Aamir Khan gained a large growing Chinese fanbase as a result. By 2013, China grew to become the world's second largest film market (after the United States), paving the way for Aamir Khan's Chinese box office success, starting with Dhoom 3 (2013).[28]PK (2014) was the first Indian film to collect ₹2 billion overseas,[31][32][33][34] and Dangal (2016) is the first Indian film to exceed ₹10 billion and $100 million overseas,[35] including ¥1.299 billion[36][37] (US$196 million) from China.[35][38]Dangal became the 16th highest-grossing film in China,[37] the fifth highest-grossing non-English language film worldwide,[39] and the highest-grossing non-English foreign film in any market.[40][41][42] His next film, the Zaira Wasim starrer Secret Superstar (2017), broke Dangal's record for the highest-grossing opening weekend by an Indian film, cementing Aamir Khan's status as a superstar in China,[43] and as "a king of the Chinese box office".[44][45] Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Irrfan Khan's Hindi Medium also became blockbusters in China during early 2018.[46]

The following list of films is sorted in terms of US dollars (not adjusted for inflation), the standard currency used to measure box office performance for overseas markets.[47][48][23] Currency conversions to Indian rupees are also given as reference points, but may not be consistent, as the dollar-rupee exchange rate has varied significantly over time,[49] from 4.76 rupees per dollar in the 1950s,[n 3] to 65.11 rupees per dollar in 2017.[50]

^Dilwale: US$30.2 million,[23]₹194 crore (equivalent to ₹219 crore or US$32 million in 2018)[77]

^ abJagir in the Soviet Union – 38million admissions.[14] This was equivalent to approximately 19million Soviet rubles[79] ($28.01 million,[68]₹353.23 million)[80] in 1986, or $64 million (₹4.102 billion) adjusted for inflation in 2017.

^ abcMera Naam Joker in the Soviet Union – Released in three parts, with the first part drawing 29million admissions, the second part 22.6million, and the final part 21.5million, adding up to 73.1million admissions.[96] This was equivalent to approximately 18.28million Soviet rubles[83] ($22.13 million,[68]₹16.81 crore)[97] at the time, or $133 million (₹846 crore) adjusted for inflation in 2017.

^In Germany, Salaam Bombay sold 258,728 tickets.[149] At the average 1990 ticket price of 9.5DM,[150] this was 2,457,916DM. At the average 1988 exchange rate of 1.585 Deutsche Marks per US dollar,[151] this was equivalent to $1,550,736.

^In Germany, Gandhi sold 2,520,841 tickets.[179] At the average 1983 ticket price of 6.96DM,[180] this was 17,545,053DM. At the average 1983 exchange rate of 2.374 Deutsche Marks per US dollar,[151] this was equivalent to $7,390,503.

^In France, Gandhi sold 2,679,974 tickets.[179] At the average 1980 ticket price of 12.22F,[181] this was 32,749,282F. At the average 1983 exchange rate of 7.6213 French francs per US dollar,[182] this was equivalent to $4,297,073.